“For a lesson in what Hasan Rohani’s reformist-backed presidency could mean for Iran, a promise Sunday by the ultra-powerful Revolutionary Guard to cooperate with him is a good guide,” Associated Press reports:
Like the rest of Iran’s ruling Islamic …
Media freedom and human rights groups today denounced Ecuador’s new media law as an authoritarian measure designed to stifle dissent.
The Communications Law approved by the National Assembly on June 14, seriously undermines free speech, said Human Rights Watch, …
Tunisia faces risks linked to its political transition and a fragile global economy but it will not be a “new Greece,” the International Monetary Fund said today:
In early June, the IMF approved a two-year standby loan for about …
US Secretary of State John Kerry should press Vietnam’s government to free a leading human rights defender, when he attends the ASEAN conference later this month, says a broad coalition of NGOs.
In an open letter released today…
Iran’s newly-elected president is no reformist, say analysts, while human rights advocates recall that he welcomed a fatal crackdown on student protests by the hardline Basij militia and Revolutionary Guards in 1999.
“As Iranians responded to the victory of the …
Although Bahrain’s ongoing troubles are domestically focused, the latest developments are a reminder of the region’s wider Sunni-Shiite divide and the problematic role played by Iran, writes a prominent analyst.
The Bahrain Interior Ministry announced that it had identified members …
While the outside world is focused on the implications of Iran’s presidential election for the regime’s nuclear program, for the average Iranian voter the key is its impact on her pocketbook, says a leading dissident.
“Iran’s industrial workers, teachers, nurses, …
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) invites organizations to submit proposals for projects that promote democracy and human rights in Cuba.
Independent Journalism (subject to the availability of funding, approximately $1,500,000):
DRL seeks proposals to improve the …
Members of the House of Representatives believe that there is “enough support in Congress to slow, if not halt entirely, economic aid to Egypt” over the conviction of 43 pro-democracy activists, McClatchy reports.
Meanwhile, the ruling Muslim Brotherhood…
“With Iran’s conservative camp divided, reformists were confident of a good showing by the moderate cleric they back in Friday’s presidential vote as they seek to avenge the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad four years ago,” AFP’s Farhad Pouladi reports…